Essentially, the wedding cake is a fertility symbol though, fortunately, the Roman tradition of breaking the cake over the bride's head has now fallen by the wayside.

The traditional British wedding cake is a fruitcake, with the top tier representing the couple and saved for the christening of their first child.

While fruit cake can last a few months, it's best to freeze it and re-ice it before eating if you decide to stick to this tradition.

But, even if you opt for fruit cake, you don't have to decorate it with regular white icing.

Why not personalise it with an unusual theme or create a novelty masterpiece?

However, if you're just not into fruitcake, or are worried about nut allergies, Kate Smallwood, editor of online wedding site www.confetti.co.uk, points out that there are acceptable alternatives.

"Some elderly relatives will really want a fruitcake, so girls will often have a fruitcake tier and then they might have a chocolate tier and a carrot cake tier," she says.

Other interesting possibilities include a French croque en bouche (a caramelised profiterole mountain), a stack of pretty fairy cakes, summer fruit tarts or - for those who don't have a sweet tooth - even a savoury cake made from a favourite cheese.

THE tradition of giving guests something to remember the day in the form of favours has been around for hundreds of years.

The most traditional gift, originating from southern Europe, is to give each guest five sugar-coated almonds to symbolise health, wealth, fertility, happiness and long life.

While some modern brides choose to forgo favours completely, it's now common practice to give guests chocolates, alcohol miniatures or even silver photo-frames.

Kate Smallwood suggests that for most brides, their choice of favours is dictated by budget. "Girls give absolutely anything and it really depends on how much money you want to spend," she says.

"People like to personalise things. There might be a personalised CD of the couple's favourite tunes or a disc of photographs. Lottery tickets are popular too."